Smyth takes over as manager of Danbury Westerners

Updated 11:10 pm, Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Ryan Smyth, who has served as the squad's hitting coach for the past four years, was recently tabbed as the franchise's seventh manager.

"I found out right toward the end of the year after Jamie (Shevchik) pretty much made his decision," Smyth said. "Myself and our GM John Pitser went out to eat and we were kind of talking about next year. He went ahead and offered the job to me and I gladly accepted. I love being in Danbury and I love going out there for summers. Everyone in the organization is unbelievable with the time they put into it."

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The Westerners are hopeful that Smyth's familiarity with the organization -- and with Danbury in general -- will allow for a smooth transition.

"I think Ryan Smyth will be an excellent addition as head coach to the organization," Danbury President Paul Shaffer said. "He's been with us for the last four years, so I think his knowledge of the league and the recruiting process and his overall knowledge of the sport is certainly going to be an asset to the organization."

"I have confidence in Coach Smyth's ability as a manager because of the role he's played with us the last four years," Danbury Vice President and General Manager Jon Pitser said. "He knows the league, the level of competition, the other franchises and what it takes to succeed in this environment."

Smyth replaces seven-year Westerner skipper Jamie Shevchik, who he played for while attending Keystone College. At the start of the season, Shevchik expressed his desire to spend more time with his family, as his wife is now pregnant with their third child.

"He indicated early in the season that this was likely going to be his last with us, so it was not a big surprise," Shaffer said of Shevchik, who is tied for the longest tenured manager in the 20-year history of the franchise. "We were obviously disappointed that he won't be back because he meant so much to the organization, but we firmly understand."

The 2014 campaign was a difficult one for the Westerners, which suffered through a 13-game losing streak and eventually concluded the season at 13-29, though they did win five of their last 10.

Given the team's previous run of success under Shevchik, Smyth and others that included three straight playoff appearances from 2010-12, this summer's struggles were quite perplexing.

"This team was as talented as any of the teams I saw the last several years," Shaffer said. "I couldn't tell you why it didn't click on the field, but these things happen in baseball and we're looking forward to bouncing back stronger next year."

"This season was definitely frustrating," Smyth said. "Obviously you hope to see better baseball. At one point we lost 13 straight and that's a very hard thing to do in baseball. We lost a lot of games in a bunch of different ways."

In a league with so much year-to-year roster overturn, however, a quick return to prominence and perhaps even the postseason is in no way out of reach, according to Smyth.

"My expectations are high. I don't see why it wouldn't turn around," Smyth said. "We want to recruit a team that's going to mesh well together."

Typically, the Westerners only bring back 1-3 players from the previous season. Returnerss last season for the Westerners were infielder Alex Tuccio and relief pitcher Brandon Bonilla, and Smyth believes that having a veteran player or two on the roster has its advantages.

"We have a couple guys we'd like to keep on that we've had success with, and we'd like to have them be another voice in the dugout that's not necessarily coming from the coach or an authority figure," Smyth said.

Smyth, who is originally from River Edge, N.J. and currently resides in Scranton, Pa., anticipates that he and other members of the Westerners' front office are preparing to "hit the ground running" in putting together next summer's roster.

"We've already started that process," Smyth said. "Our GM John Pitser and I sat down together and talked about our game plan and what kind of guys I'd like to bring in. I would say probably within the next month we're really going to hit the ground running and we'll see a team start to shape."

"I was sold on him the moment he expressed interest in the job," Pitser said. "It gives us a lot of continuity and we've already hit the ground running on recruiting for the 2015 season."